2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:
3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,
4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)
. . .
6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
Have you ever thought that someone or some group should not be included with those who are saved? This is what the Jews of Jesus’ time thought. The early Christians, who were mostly converts from Judaism, thought the same thing and were not supportive of Paul’s efforts to bring the good news of salvation to the Gentiles.
If you have children, do you favor one over the other, or do you love them all? If we can love all of our children and want them all to succeed in life, why do we think that God favors one group over another? When we reread Genesis, we do not hear God say that some are created in his image and others are not. We have choices in this life and they include deciding to treat all as children of the one God, or only the ones that are like us, that think like us, or look like us.
I’m fortunate that my father was a man who never judged people by their looks, their religion or their level of education. In fact, he tried his best to help those who needed his help the most. He was a juvenile probation officer for 20 years and instituted programs that would help offenders once out of detention facilities to return to school and get a diploma so that they would be able to get a job without revealing a record that was legally sealed. I have always been grateful for his generous spirit and the ability to learn from him.
May we be able to see the image of God in those we meet.
Gracious God, may we have a spirit of generosity and see all your children as worthy of your saving acts. Amen.
